Building construction

ABSTRACT

A building structure having a structural beam carrying a concrete floor is rendered fire resistant by a fire-resistant building wall held against one side of the beam, the bottom and the remaining side of the beam being protected by a fireresistant coating. The wall-holding means includes an inverted channel that receives the top edge of the wall, plus a lateral extension secured to the structural beam. The holding means has an upstanding flange that serves as a screeding edge for leveling the concrete floor while fluid.

United States Patent [72] inventor Thomas M. Hays One Rockledge. PO. Box 6, Pleasantville, 7 N.Y. 10570 [21 Appl. No. 794,571 122] Filed Jan. 28, 1969 [45] Patented Sept. 14, 1971 [54] BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. CI 52/282, 52/327, 52/334, 52/336, 52/364, 52/515, 52/727 [51] lnt.Cl E04b 1/16, E04c 3/20 [50] Field of Search 52/282,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,104,346 7/1914 Church 52/727 1,932,941 10/1933 Stone 52/344 1,191,283 7/1916 Conwell 52/336 1,779,721 10/1930 Yeager 52/335 1,789,827, 1/1931 McKay .1 52/236 2,120,195 6/1938 Valenti 52/513 3,394,514 7/1968 Lindner 52/336 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,197,540 6/1959 France 52/727 OTHER REFERENCES Cemcnstone Company Publication Dated Dec. 8, 1941, 2 Pages, Copy in class 52, subclass 483 Primary Examiner- Frank L. Abbott Assistant Examiner-James L. Ridgill, .lr. Attorney-Paul S. Martin ABSTRACT: A building structure having a structural beam carrying a concrete floor is rendered fire resistant by a fire-resistant building wall held against one side of the beam, the bottom and the remaining side of the beam being protected by a fire-resistant coating. The wall-holding means includes an inverted channel that receives the top edge of the wall, plus a lateral extension secured to the structural beam. The holding means has an upstanding flange that serves as a screeding edge for leveling the concrete floor while fluid.

PATENTED SEP 1 4 IQYI LWENTOR. 7790/ 1/15 /2 M1):

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION The present invention relates to building construction, and in particular to a fire resistant structure.

A primary object of this invention resides in providing a novel assembly of floors and walls to structural steel beams and, in particular, to such a structure in which there is an effective means for uniting a fire-resistant wall to a structural steel beam, especially where the, beam directly supports a concrete floor, in an effective economical manner, and having the advantage of providing protection for the sti'luctural beam against damaging heat in case of fire.

A related object resides in the provision of a novel economical and highly effective sheet metal device for unifying a wall unit and a structural beam.

The nature of the invention, including the foregoing and I other objects, novel features and advantages, will befapsistant wall unit against one side of the beam, leaving only the bottom and the opposite side of the beam :to 'be covered with fireproofing material. That material serves no structural purpose, and adds weight and expense in terms of material and labor costs. Consequently the location of the fire resistant wall against one side of the' beam,.avoiding the need for fireproof- I ing, is a distinct advantage.*A sheet metal unifying device is provided that includes a lateral extension that overlies and is secured to the top face of the structural beam, and a downward-opening channel adjacent the beam that receives and locates the top edge of a wall unit. Merely fastening the unifying device to the beam provides a locating channel for the top edge of the wall unit. A vertical stiffener may be secured to the unifying device and to the floor below, and receives and provides stiffening for the vertical edges of two adjacent wall units. These may be masonry wall sections of concrete blocks and mortar, or gypsum board or foamed scoria. The same unifying device has an upward-extending part that serves several purposes, discussed below.

The illustrative embodiment of the invention and several modifications are shown in the accompanying drawing which forms part of the disclosure. In the drawings;

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross section of .a building structure illustrating features of the invention as viewed from the plane [-1, in FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in cross section as viewed from the section line 11-1] in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 and 4 are end views of two different embodiments of a sheet metal unifying device for the building structure of FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross section of a modification of the embodiment in FIG. 1,'including only the metal components thereof and omitting the wall units, flooring and fireproofing of the complete structure.

Referring now to the embodiments in FIGS. 1 and 2, an I- beam is shown in cross section in FIG. '1. This I-beam forms part of a conventional building structure and has suitable supporting means at the ends thereof (not shown). A heavy-gage corrugated sheet steel deck I2 is supported by I-beam 10, and a floor of reinforced concrete 14 is supported by this corrugated steel deck so that the deck becomes an integral part of the floor.

A sheet metal device 16 is included for a number-of purposes, as will presently appear. This sheet metal device may take various forms, two forms being illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively. Primed numerals are used to designate parts in FIG. 4 corresponding to the parts in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, device 16 includes a channel in the form of an inverted U" having sidewall 18 and 20 that are connected-by web 22. An L-shaped part is welded or otherwise united to web 22 of the channel, including an upstanding part 24 that is coplanar with sidewall 18 and horizontal part 26. Part 26 extends horizontally away from the vertical plane'defined by sidewall l8 and part 24, extending to the right considerably beyond channel sidewall 20. In the modification of FIG..4, the sheet metal device is made of .a single folded piece ofsheet metal and includes an outer sidewall 18' and an inner sidewall 20' of a channel whose web 22 connects these sidewalls. The unit of FIG. 4 also includes an upstanding part 24' that is coplanar with wall 18 and a horizontally projecting part 26'. Walls 18' and 20' are formed by doubled-back sheet metal parts which are suitably spot-welded so that each double-thickness sidewall-18' and 20' behaves as if it were a single sheet. In FIG. 3 walls 18 and 20 are of equal length whereas in FIG. 4 wall 18 is longer than wall 20'.

In .FIGS. 1 and 2, device 16 is shown with its lateral horizontally projecting portion 26 interposed between the top surface of I-beam 10 and the bottom surface of corrugated deck 12. A series of welds, e.g. tack welds or weld studs 28, unite the lower corrugations of deck 12 to sheet metal projection 26 and, in turn, to the top surface of I-beam I0. In conventional building practice, these welding studs 28 are used with the corrugations and the I-beam for spotwelding the deck to the I- beam. In the present construction the same resistance tack welding is carried out with projecting sheet metal part 26 interposed between the deck and the I-beam.

A wall unit 30 is shown with its upper edge received between the outer and inner walls 18 and 20 of member 16, located so that wall unit 30 is against or nearly against the bottom-flange of the I-beam 10. A coating of flame-retarding material 32 is shown covering the bottom surface of the lbeam and the side of the 'I-beam remote from wall 30. Coating 32 is any of a variety of foamed mineral compositions or concrete or similar material. The building code of New York City, for example, requires this material to have a 3-hour rating, as a protection for the structural steel beam. There is no need for this flame-retarding coating at the side of the I-beam that faces wall unit 30 since the wall unit itself serves the function of a flame retardant and provides the necessary resistance to the flow of heat toward the l-beam in case of fire. The omission of this fire-retarding coating at one side of the beam represents an enormous cost saving.

Upstanding flange 24 of unit 16 has its upper edge aligned with the top surface of the floor. When the concrete is freshly poured on the deck 12, the upper edge of unit 16 serves as a gage for workmen in screeding the surface of the soft concrete, for establishing the level of concrete to be poured and smoothed.

Wall unit 30 is shown as made of one piece and may be any of the class of fire-retardant mineral wall units such as gypsum board or foamed scoria. Such wall units are commonly available commercially. The wall unit may also be fabricated of cast concrete blocks and mortar, in each case being fire resistant to protect one side of beam 10.

In FIG. 2 the verticaledges of panels 30 are shown received 'in respective channels 32 and 34 of a vertical wall stiffener. An anchoring strip 36 that extends from channel 32 of the stiffener is united to web 22 of device 16 by a self-tapping screw or any other suitable fastener. Details of this wall stiffener are shown in my U. S. Pat. No. 3,405,491 issued Oct. 15, 1968. At the bottom of the unit 32-34, there is another anchoring element (not shown) like element 36, secured to the floor below.

In .fabricating the structure in FIGS. 1 and 2, deck 12 is laid on I-beam 1'0 (suitably supported) and unit 16 has its flange or extension 26 interposed between deck-l2 and the top flange of the channel, as shown. Resistance welds are made using welding studs 28 or simple tack welds. A wall panel 30 has its upper edge tucked into the space between walls 18 and 20, panel 30 sloping upward to the right at this time, and then the wall panel is'moved into its erect position, as shown. The wall panel is then shifted horizontally until it is received into channel 32 of a wall stiffener. Another wall stiffener 32, 34 is then secured in place at the opposite edge ofthe wall panel. The upper end of stiffener 32, 34 is secured (as by percussiondriven nails) to the unifying device 16, and the lower end of often stored on deck 12 before the concrete for the floor has been poured.,Part 24 of unifying device 16 blocks such cylin ders from rolling off the deck.

Member 16 may be relatively short, perhaps a foot or two in length and two or more may be used for each panel 30. However, it is of advantage to make unifying device 16 long, to extend along the whole length of the floor (or abutting devices 16 may be used) so as to serve as a vertical casting surface for the concrete flooring and so that its upper edge can be used as a screeding gage for the upper surface of the newly poured concrete. Device 16 also acts as a flashing between the top of the wall unit 30 and the lateral surface of the floor.

A modified arrangement is shown in FIG. 5 wherein deck 12 terminates short of unifying device 16. Where device 16 extends continuously along l-beam I0, deck 12 and device 1 6 act together to form the casting surface for the concrete floor.

ing elements '12 and 16 to beam 10, or welds can be used.

In FIG. 4, the sidewall 18' is longer than sidewall 20. This has the following, purpose. Wall panel may be installed in such a manner that its upper edge at first rests against the inner surface of the left-hand longer sidewall 18 of device 16'. At this time the wall panel slants slightly, sloping downward to the right. The upper edge of the panel is low enough so that the panel, resting on its lower edge, can swing clear of the other sidewall 20 as the panel is swung against sidewall 18. Then the panel is shifted into its final vertical position. The bottom of the panel moves across the floor below, and the top margin of the panel rises into the space between sidewalls l8 and 20', to assume the position shown in FIG. 1.

In the drawings, the thickness of device 16 is exaggerated. The gage of sheet metal used is typically 14- to l8-gage but would vary, depending on the thickness and weight of the wall panel 30, and on other factors. in contrast, the l-beam is'a structural part of the building, of structural steel, and of considerably greater thickness to provide the supporting strength for carrying the floor. It is many times as thick as the sheet metal of device 16, typically of 8- to 12-inch depth and roughly /4-inch thickness. Structural steel members require fire-resisting protection, whereas device 16 does not need fireproofing treatment.

The construction involving the wall 30, floor l4 and beam 10, unitedby device 10, minimizes imposing cracking stresses on the wall, yet secures the walls firmly in place. As noted previously, the device. 10 locates the wall, which is of fire-resistant material, laterally opposite a side of the l-beam. In this way the structural beam is given fire-resistant protection at one side. Resort to the usual coating of fire-resistant material at that side of the beam is avoided. That is an advantage because such an operation is often difficult because of limited access to one side of the beam, and because eliminating the operation represents important savings in the cost of labor and coating material. Where device 10 extends continuously along the floor that overlies the beam, it acts as flashing for the floor-to-lower-wall joint, and it can serve as a screeding edge in forming the concrete floor as already noted. Where the vertical stiffener 32, 34 is used, the device 16 serves as an anchoring point for the upper end thereof.

The nature of the invention is such that the foregoing forms of construction may be modified in many detailed respects within the skill of the art without departing from thespirit of the invention which should, therefore, be broadly construed.

What I claim is:

l. A building structure, includinga structural steel beam, a concrete floor, carried on and'providing top cover for said beam, a wall of a buildin having one side of the upperportion thereof disposed lmme lately adjacent to and covering one side of said structural beam, and means for uniting said building wallto said-beam the latter means including a downwarddirected channelhaving sidewalls between which an upper edge, portion of saidbuilding wall is received, said channel having a lateral extension united to said beam, said wall being fire resistant, whereby said floor and said building wall provide fire resistance for said beam at the top and one side thereof, and fire-resistant material covering and adherent to the bottom and the remaining side of said beam.

2. A building structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said lateral extension is a substantially flat sheet metal part that overlies and is secured to the top surface of said beam.

Q. A building structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein said uniting means includes a further vertical flange in face contact with an edge of the concrete floor, the upper surface of the concrete floor being aligned with the upper edge of said further vertical flange, whereby said further flange can serve as a top-surface gage during the screeding of the flooring concrete while wet, and wherein said uniting means including said further flange serves further as flashing along said build ing wall and the floor.

4. A building structure in accordance with claim I, wherein said uniting means extends upward, against and continuously along an edge of said floor to act as flashing.

5. A building structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said concrete floor includes a sheet metal supporting, deck, said deck and said lateral extension overlying one another and being joined to said beam by common welds. 

1. A building structure, including a structural steel beam, a concrete floor carried on and providing top cover for said beam, a wall of a building having one side of the upper portion thereof disposed immediately adjacent to and covering one side of said structural beam, and means for uniting said building wall to said beam the latter means including a downward-directed channel having sidewalls between which an upper edge portion of said building wall is received, said channel having a lateral extension united to said beam, said wall being fire resistant, whereby said floor and said building wall provide fire resistance for said beam at the top and one side thereof, and fire-resistant material covering and adherent to the bottom and the remaining side of said beam.
 2. A building structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said lateral extension is a substantially flat sheet metal part that overlies and is secured to the top surface of said beam.
 2. A building structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein said uniting means includes a further vertical flange in face contact with an edge of the concrete floor, the upper surface of the concrete floor being aligned with the upper edge of said further vertical flange, whereby said further flange can serve as a top-surface gage during the screeding of the flooring concrete while wet, and wherein said uniting means including said further flange serves further as flashing along said building wall and the floor.
 4. A building structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein said uniting means extends upward, against and continuously along an edge of said floor to act as flashing.
 5. A building structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said concrete floor includes a sheet metal supporting deck, said deck and said lateral extension overlying onE another and being joined to said beam by common welds. 